There she used
to visit him privily, till she had borne him a number of
children, and the merchants, sailing by the mountain, in their
voyages over the sea, heard the weeping of the children, as it
were the wailing of a woman who had lost her young, and said,
"Is there here a mother bereaved of her children?" For which
reason the place was named the Mountain of the Bereaved
Mother.' And King Dirbas's Vizier marvelled at this.
Then they landed and making for the castle, knocked at the gate,
which was opened to them by an eunuch, who knew the Vizier
Ibrahim and kissed his hands. Ibrahim entered and finding in
the courtyard, among the serving men, a man in the habit of a
fakir,[FN#82] said. 'Whence comes yonder fellow?' Quoth they,
'He is a merchant, who hath lost his goods by shipwreck, but
saved himself on a plank; and he is an ecstatic.'[FN#83] Now
this was none other than Uns el Wujoud, [but the Vizier knew
him not]; so he left him and went on into the castle. He found
there no trace of his daughter and questioned her women, who
answered, 'She abode with us but a little while and went away,
how and whither we know not.
Pages:
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313